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Welcome to the Kingsthorpe College newsletter.
Kingsthorpe College Newsletter Edition 200
Dear Parents
Happy New Year.
It’s been an incredibly busy start to 2020 and I am really looking forward
to a half-term full of opportunities for our students to develop their
artistic, athletic and academic excellence. I also hope that I am in a
position to share our Ofsted report with you in the next couple of weeks –
we are still waiting to receive the draft report from Ofsted but this is not
unusual given the timing of our inspection.
Assemblies by the year teams during the first week back after the
Christmas break focused on setting personal targets in the form of New
Year Resolutions and we always find that the start of the year is a good
time to reflect on the past and set targets to improve further. I often talk
to students about being the best version of themselves, and one of my
favourite quotations is from William Faulkner who says, “Don’t bother
just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be
better than yourself.”
Thank you to all parents/carers who attended the Year 7 Parents’ Evening
on Thursday 9th January. We recorded the highest ever attendance for the
school. Feedback was extremely positive, and I am delighted with how
the year group has transitioned to KC from their primary schools.
On Wednesday of this week, we welcomed representatives from Century
Tech into school to demonstrate to our Year 11 students, teachers and
tutors their amazing online learning platform. The programme uses
artificial intelligence software to diagnose students’ areas for
development in their science, maths, and English knowledge and then
uses this information to provide a personalised pathway for each student
depending on their needs. The material on this platform has been
developed by expert teachers, as well as neuroscientists and the positive
impact on achievement that spending just 20 minutes a day on the
platform is astonishing. Year 11 students will begin using the platform
immediately and if you have a son or daughter in Year 11, I would
encourage you to ask them to show you how it works. There is also a
parent page which allows you to see how your son or daughter is
progressing and we will send details of how you can access this in due
course. All students at the College have access to this platform and we
look forward to rolling it out to other year groups after Easter once we
have become experts in the system! In addition, the platform will allow
us to set and mark homework, as well as provide students with electronic
textbooks for all aspects of their core subjects. I know homework and
how you can be involved in this is something which several of you have
raised in the past, so I am looking forward to sharing this with you as I
think it will directly address some of the issues you have raised.
As our students in Year 11 and Post 16 edge ever closer to their exams, we
were delighted to welcome David Hyner on Thursday who delivered a
motivational speech to Year 11 and Post 16 students. His speech was
inspirational, and he challenged our students to not settle for being
average – a perfect message for the start of the decade as KC students are
definitely not average!
I am sure you are aware that here at Kingsthorpe College we recognise
the importance of punctuality and the link to achievement. We have high
expectations for our students and it is important to us that we show
students the link between good school habits and the world of work –
particularly in relation to the need to be on time. As a result, students
who are late more than 2 times in a week will be set a “Catch up
Detention” on a Wednesday afternoon between 3.00 and 3.45pm where
they will be expected to catch up on work missed. We feel this will help
our students improve their attainment as well as encourage them to form
good habits. Just a reminder that students need to be on site for 8.30am
as registration starts at 8.40am. We have a simple mantra, “Get through
the gate by half past eight and you won’t be late.”
Important dates coming up:
• Tuesday 4th February – On Line Safety Workshop for Parents.
• Thursday 13th February – Y11 Parents’ Evening 2.
• Thursday 13th February – Y11/Post 16 Revision Session for
Parents.
I look forward to updating you again next week.
Mrs Giovanelli
Headteacher
Student services have quite the collection of coats in lost property, please ask your child to take a look if you have some lost property.
Cogheart by Peter Bunzl (BL 5.7)
The Cogheart Adventures series by Peter Bunzl is a
contemporary classic, full of mystery, mayhem and
danger. In honour of Peter visiting the college this
week we have chosen Cogheart as our book of the
week.
When 13-year-old Lily's inventor father vanishes
after a Zeppelin crash, Lily's determined to hunt
down the truth behind his disappearance, helped by
Robert, the local clockmaker's son, and her wily
mechanical fox Malkin. But shadowy figures are closing in and treachery
lurks among the smoky spires of London - along with a life-changing
secret. Be swept away by airships and flabbergasted by dastardly plots in
this extraordinary and wildly imaginative book, bursting with invention
and adventure.
Cogheart is book one in the series, try it if you love fast-paced action and
mystery adventure stories.
Our words of the week this term are all based around the Latin root word mit – meaning send.
The word of the week is…….
“omit”
Definition: Leave out or exclude (someone or something), either
intentionally or forgetfully.
Try and use this word in a sentence this week. My sentence is:
Please do not omit any details, however trivial they may seem.
Our reading hero this week is Hannah Marie McLean Pyle - Year
7. Hannah has made remarkable progress on the Accelerated Reader
programme. She has been reading a diverse range of books which have
included books by J.K. Rowling, Christopher Paolini, Lou Kuenzler and
Ali Sparkes. Since joining us in September she has read an amazing 18
books which equates to 1,083,536 words read. She also recently became
one of our newest Accelerated Reader millionaires. Well done Hannah
you are an AR Star! Keep up the good work.
We encourage parents and carers to check planners on pages 33 and 34.
These pages contain information about what your child is reading, they
also have information about their star reading test scores. Please
encourage wider reading at home, we recommend at least twenty minutes
a day.
A reminder that our Year 7 BookBuzz challenge finishes on the
31st January. Please ensure that all completed entry forms are signed and
returned to the library.
I hope you will agree this is a wonderful treat for our students. If you
would like to find out more about Peter and his work please visit his
website:
http://www.peterbunzl.com/books/
Wednesday 5th February will see the sixth annual Harry Potter Book
Night which is celebrated throughout the world. Here at Kingsthorpe
College, we’re getting ready to host an unforgettable night. This year’s
theme is the Triwizard Tournament. The fun kicks off in the school
library at 3pm and finishes at 5pm.
On Harry Potter Book Night, we’ll be sharing the wonder of J.K.
Rowling’s unforgettable stories and, most excitingly, introducing the next
generation of readers to the magic of Harry Potter. Here at Kingsthorpe
College, young wizards, witches and muggles will be treated to an evening
of games, activities and quizzes. It all begins when the Sorting Hat
decides who will be in which house and students will compete for house
points throughout the evening’s challenges. These will include a treasure
hunt, readings, Transfiguration games and a Hogwarts Hall of Fame
Quiz. We shall also be holding a fancy dress competition.
You can find out more about Harry Potter Book Night
at harrypotterbooknight.com #HarryPotterBook Night
Whilst we have lots of fun we would also like to raise money for charity,
all we ask is that everyone who attends donates £1 to participate.
We only have a limited number of spaces, so if you would like to take part
in this event please collect a letter from the library or contact Mrs
Broadbent, Library Manager.
• W/C 20th January – Y7, Y8 & Y12 Student First Aid sessions
(More information to follow soon)
• Wednesday 22nd & 23rd January – Y8 Developer for a Day
Masterclass (More information to follow soon)
• Tuesday 4th February – Online Safety Workshop for Parents
• Thursday 6th February – Year 9 Inspiration for Innovation
Day (More information to follow soon)
• Wednesday 12th February – Parent Coffee Morning
• Thursday 13th February – Y11 Parents’ Evening 2
• Thursday 13th February – Y11/ Post 16 Revision Session for
Parents
• Thursday 27th February – Kingsthorpe College Careers Fair
(More information to follow soon)
Key Contacts
Please use the email addresses below to contact year or curriculum leads.
Mr Smith, Mr Baron & Mr Wade
Mr Wright, Mr Heffernan & Mr Hancock
Mrs Kinsella, Mrs Read & Mr Hartnett
Mr Hill, Mrs VanGeijlswijk & Mr Baines
Mrs Watts, Mrs Patel & Mrs Hayward-Pretty
Mr Pomerantz, Ms Coppard, Mr Campbell & Mr MacDonald
Mrs Williams, Ms Vink & Mr Hancock
English
Learning Director: Mr Williams
Leadership Team Link: Mrs Giovanelli
Maths
Learning Director: Ms Turner
Leadership Team Link: Mr Wade
Science
Learning Director: Ms Basar
Leadership Team Link: Mr Baines –
Humanities
Learning Director: Ms McDermott
Leadership Team Link: Mr MacDonald
Modern Foreign Languages
Learning Director: Ms Sherred
Leadership Team Link: Mr Wade
ICT and Business
Learning Director: Mr Anakwa
Leadership Team Link: Mrs Hayward-Pretty –
Vocational
Learning Director: Mr Ingram
Leadership Team Link: Mrs Hayward-Pretty
Visual Arts and Technology
Learning Director: Mr Jones
Leadership Team Link: Mr Baines
PE
Acting Learning Director: Miss Pettingale
Leadership Team Link: Mr Hancock
Performing Arts
Deputy Learning Director: Mrs Townsend
Leadership Team Link: Mr Hartnett
Special Educational Needs
Learning Director: Mr O’Leary
david.o’[email protected]
Leadership Team Link: Mr Baines
Careers Programme
Careers Leader: Diane Fisher –
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